The Green Flame
by Vena-Mala
Summary: Tony Stark has an illegitimate daughter called Arabella, who just so happens to go to the same school as Norman Osborn's son. And when Tony is busy being Iron Man, Arabella finds herself "abandoned" with Harry over Easter. It's hardly surprising that the billionaire teens become close during their time together...very close.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I've had the idea of Arabella Stark for a while now, and when I saw TASM2 last week I just thought her and Harry would work perfectly, so here they are(:**

**This is written using mostly just inspiration from the films, but excluding some of the events.**

Arabella Stark stood in the hallway of the school that she had been attending for the past six years, watching as the last of her friends left for the Easter holidays. They were all going home to spend time with their families - a refreshing break from the monotony of school life. Every other year Arabella had done the same: got into an ominous black car on the last day of term and driven to her father's sprawling mansion without a backwards glance. But this year, everything was different. This year she was being abandoned; her father, Tony Stark, had decided that he had better things to be doing than spend the season with his perpetually grumpy, illegitimate teenage daughter. And so she found herself spending Easter in the cold school building with the rest of the losers whose parents hadn't wanted them. It was going to be a long holiday.

Turning her nose up at the mere thought of it, she trudged back into the study centre where the rest of the students had gathered. Mostly they were the children of parents who lived far away or who had jobs too busy to take time off to see their child. The vast majority of them were used to this routine by now, so they had made friends with other losers and were sat in small groups dotted around the tables that filled the room. They talked in hushed tones, gossiping about the events of the past week or assignments that they had due after the holiday. None of them noticed Arabella walk in.

None, that is, except for Harry Osborn, who immediately glanced up at the sound of footsteps echoing through the small space. He frowned when he saw her.

She frowned too. Seeing the son of such a rich, influential man sat all alone struck her as extremely odd; surely he could at least pay someone to sit with him, if he was incapable of gaining friends like a normal person? Or perhaps that was just the issue: ordinary people are often intimidated by the rich and famous. Arabella should know.

Whatever the reason for his loneliness, Arabella decided that she wasn't interested and shook the thoughts from her head. The weird boy was nothing to do her. Except that the only remaining seat in the room was opposite Harry. Arabella rolled her eyes, "Just my luck", she muttered to herself.

Dragging her feet, she walked over to the chair and practically fell into it; it had been a long day. She dropped her bag onto the table in front of the Osborn boy and started rummaging around in it, looking for anything that might make her look busy enough for him to not wish to interrupt. He was still staring at her as her hand came back empty.

"Need some help there?" He enquired politely.

"No," she replied through gritted teeth. "I'm fine."

"If you say so," he shrugged in response. "Hey, what are you still doing here? Don't you usually go home for the holidays?"

"Don't you watch the news? My dad has a new toy to play with. And you know, protecting Earth is kind of busy work - wouldn't want an annoying teenage brat getting in the way."

Harry looked awkward. "Sorry," was all he could think to say in return.

Arabella quickly plastered her usual 'I don't care' expression to her face and feigned nonchalance. Then, in an attempt to push the topic away from herself, she mused, "What's the deal with you, anyway? Do you ever go home or..." She left the end of that sentence in mid air.

"My dad doesn't really like having me around, either. We don't exactly get on." She looked at him with pity, which he hated so quickly continued, "But I'm used to it."

Arabella nodded as though she was interested in the life of this child billionaire. She should really take up acting lessons, she thought. Changing the topic from his evidently depressing life, she asked, "So what do you people do for a whole month by yourselves then?"

"Super-rad parties in the dorms every night, obviously," Harry replied sarcastically. Then, seeing her unimpressed expression, he said honestly, "Mostly just homework. The staff that stay here sometimes organise things for us to do but that's usually about as thrilling as a wet paper towel."

Arabella sighed. "Well I can tell I'm gonna have so much fun," she grumbled.

Harry nodded slightly. Then, seeing that the conversation had come to its end, turned his head to the table and the numerous papers scattered before him. Something in this mess had to provide him an answer. It just had to.

Lying in bed later that night, Arabella felt very alone. Not alone in the way that she usually felt during term time: surrounding by people but doing her best to ignore them all. In a dorm intended for four people but currently only inhabited by herself, she was genuinely and truly alone. She could hear the sound of her heartbeat in her chest and every breath that she took sounded like the beginning of a thunderstorm.

Just down the corridor, Harry Osborn was staring at the ceiling of his own, equally empty dorm room. He'd spent his entire life feeling lonely, hiding in his father's shadow. He didn't like being an Osborn; the pressure to be both intelligent and charismatic, handsome and humorous...it was all too much for him. He knew that he had let his father down repeatedly throughout his life, through almost every choice that he made. Norman Osborn wasn't a big believer in the basic human right of the freedom of choice.

Rolling over, Harry tugged his heavy duvet up around his neck and stated at the blank wall before him til his eyes felt heavy. Eventually, he fell asleep. Arabella gazed at the posters that her and her friends had pinned to the ceiling and walls: firemen with six packs, galaxies and constellations, that Winnie the Pooh one that no one would admit to owning but no one could be bothered to take down either. She had stared at them all so often over the past years at school that she had memorised every colour, every shape, every expression. Tracing them all by heart, she found her breathing getting slower until she, too, fell fast asleep.

**A/N: So that was the first chapter, hope you enjoyed it!**

**This is my first proper fanfic, so reviews (positive or negative) would be greatly appreciated.**

**Also, does this seem like a good chapter length? I've got some others written already but I'm not sure if they're too short (700 words ish sound okay?)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry it's taken a little while, I've just been so busy with exam stuff! Also, if I've got some of my facts about American schools wrong then please forgive me but as you might be able to tell I'm not from America. Anyway, here goes chapter 2:**

The next day passed slowly. Arabella slept right through breakfast, as per usual, and then took her sweet time getting dressed. She figured that since there were no classes during the holidays, there was no reason to hurry for anything. But recalling the exams that she had coming up after the holiday she realised that she should perhaps do as Harry had said last night and make a start on her homework.

With a bored expression on her face she wandered towards the main school building, to one of the computer suites where she intended to make a crack on her geography homework. As soon as she sat down and opened the file, she regretted choosing to study geography. It wasn't that it was overly difficult - for her, at least - but it bored her senseless. Tapping away at her computer, she scrolled through seemingly never ending pages discussing the British countryside in terrifying detail.

She was just about to fall asleep on the keyboard, when she heard someone slide into the seat next to her and begin leaning over her shoulder.

She could practically feel Harry frowning at her screen. "England? Why are you writing about England?"

"Because it's much more interesting than here," she retorted in a monotonous tone.

"But you're american!" Harry protested, as though this meant anything.

"And yet I keep my British accent - what does that tell you I'd rather be?"

Harry laughed. "Yeah, you do realise everyone thinks that's fake right?"

That got her attention. Arabella immediately turned in her seat to glare at him. "What? That's ridiculous! I fucking went to school there for like my entire childhood I can't help it if I picked shit up!" Swivelling round in her chair to face her screen once more she muttered to herself, "God, this school is so full of bullshit. Americans are such assholes."

"And yet you swear like one of us. What does that tell you?"

Instead of answering his question, she simply snapped back, "Yeah? And you talk like a posh twat."

"Twat? What even is that?"

"Its a...British thing...it means...vagina," she replied sheepishly.

"I talk like a vagina? I'd say that's pretty impressive really." Harry laughed.

Arabella glowered at him. "Yeah, well, I'm sorry jackass but I have to carry on with this so if you could just...fuck off?"

Harry continued laughing as he turned to face his computer and set about on his own assignments. And so they sat there side by side for another hour. Neither of them spoke but every now and then Harry turned and smirked at her. Whenever she caught him looking, he winked before turning away quickly.

Just before lunch, Arabella heard Harry packing away his books beside her and scraping his chair back. As he leant forward to pick up his bag, his face moved closer to Arabella's ear. Determined to ignore him and his stupid remarks, she continued staring at her screen, occasionally tapping away.

"You are such a Stark," he laughed in her ear, before walking away.

Arabella twisted her body round quickly to ask what on Earth he meant by that, but she wasn't quick enough as he was almost at the door already. She could see him still shaking his head with laughter and she sighed. She was not like a Stark, she told herself. She was nothing like her father. And yet there was still a voice in her head that told her the exact opposite. Strangely, it sounded quite similar to a certain Harry Osborn. 

The next few days passed in a similar fashion: Arabella spent the morning revising and working on her assignments; the afternoon she sat with her laptop in one of the study centres, scrolling through Tumblr and talking to her friends on Twitter. The whole time she made a concerted effort to ignore Harry Osborn, whom she had noticed had begun to turn up wherever she was. He didn't always sit next to her, but she could still feel his gaze boring into the side of her face. She refused to give in and look at him. But the whole time, she could still hear his taunting in her ear. She could still feel his breath on her ear; his lips brushing past her face.

Harry, meanwhile, found himself constantly wondering what it was about this girl that kept him hooked. He didn't wake up intending to sit in the same study rooms at the same time as her, or to eat lunch in the same cafes, or to go to the canteen at the same time; it just sort of happened. He tried to convince himself that it was just the loneliness – these few weeks at school, when all the normal kids had returned to normality, were always tough. He tried to pretend that he just wanted a friend, someone to talk to until school began again. But it was all lies.

Of course he was attracted to her; physically, she was beautiful. She had long brown hair that framed her fair skin, with striking green eyes and a gorgeous figure – when she bothered to show it off, freeing it from its usual uniform of jeans and a hoodie. But there were plenty of attractive girls around and, being Harry Osborn, he knew that he could easily have his pick of the bunch. Perhaps that was just it: she hid herself under such a thick layer of swear words and bad-girl attitude that Harry could hardly be blamed for being intrigued. Plus, she definitely didn't seem to want him, which just made the chase all the more exciting. And all the more difficult.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that! It's going to start hotting up (literally) soon, although I might not be able to update for another few weeks as exams are starting - but the more you review, the more motivated I'll be to post!(:**


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning: This one's might be just a little odd... But it's the revealing of Arabella's big secret so I hope you like it!**

Later on that week, during a day that had begun just like any other, Harry Osborn found himself alone at dinner. Even if she hadn't sat next to him exactly, he had always seen Arabella in the canteen at dinner time every other day so far that holiday. But, strangely, today she was nowhere to be found. Trying not to worry himself too much about what would probably turn out to be just an insignificant detail of another ordinary day, he continued his meal.

When he finished he put his plate away and left the hall, just like normal. He had to walk outside the main building to get to his dormitory in one of the blocks just on the edge of campus; normally, he was thankful for the fresh air, but tonight a strange light distracted him from all pleasant thoughts. It was glowing orange and yellow and appeared to be emanating from one of the dorm buildings, near to the roof but undoubtedly with its source in one of the bedrooms. Stepping closer, he noticed that a small crowd had gathered at the bottom of the building. Everyone was staring up at the light, silently. It didn't take long for Harry to realise what the light was – the smell wafting through the air and the sound of a fire engine heading their way were more than enough evidence for him.

The flames appeared to have almost doubled in size before the firemen arrived and began to put it out with large hoses, spraying everything in sight. It was only at this point, reassured that everyone was safe and that the fire was under control, that Harry noticed Arabella out of the corner of the eye. Feeling his gaze on the back of her neck, she turned and smiled at him before sidling over to his side.

With a smirk on her face, she asked him, "Isn't it beautiful?"

He turned and stared at her like she was insane. "What?"

"I mean, I know it's dangerous and all, but flames are quite pretty right?"

"Uh," Harry did not look convinced. "I guess?"

She inhaled and exhaled deeply, still gazing at what remained of the fire.

"I wonder what caused it," Harry mused.

Arabella shrugged. "Someone with a grudge? Someone bored?"

There was a look in her eyes that told Harry that she perhaps knew more than she was letting on. "Right. Probably someone with a history of arson... presumably with a lighter or something."

"Not necessarily."

"Alright, matches then," he conceded.

"For a fire like that? I doubt it."

Harry was staring at her, confused. "Who made you the font of all fire knowledge?"

"It's complicated," was her mediocre response.

Harry sighed. "Well, has Little Miss Genius got any ideas as to who it could have been?"

Finally, Arabella turned and looked at him. She stared at him, gazing directly into his bright blue eyes, and she smirked. "One."

Harry narrowed his eyes as things began to fall in place. "You don't mean..." He trailed off, not wanting to consider the end of that sentence.

Arabella's smirk grew. "I'm going to my dorm. Feel free to join me if you want an explanation. Or you can just jump to your own conclusions, whatever." She shrugged, before turning on her heel and heading towards the dorm building that was furthest from the one in front of which they were currently stood.

Harry waited a moment or two, until she was just out of sight, before making his decision. "Arabella! Hey, wait up!" She laughed to herself and stopped just outside of the building. When he caught up to her, he raised his eyebrows. "So?"

She shook her head at his idiocy. "Wait."

He rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. Together, they walked in silence up the stairs to her dorm. It looked just like every other one on the campus, but with brightly coloured bed sheets and posters on every wall. Plus, it smelled distinctly of something that Harry could only describe as girl.

Arabella walked straight to the window on the other side of the room, and Harry followed her obediently. At the window, she rested her elbows on the sill and turned to face him. Once more, he raised his eyebrows.

She sighed, "I set fire to the headteacher's office in my last school. It was my last year, so I left before they caught on that it was me. They could never do anything about it though, 'cause they had no evidence."

"No lighter, no matches?"

She nodded. "I don't need them." He frowned, so she explained, "You know Thor?" Harry continued frowning, unsure where she was going with this, but nodded all the same. "He's not the only... non-human out there. There are loads of other species. And there are these people, called Fire Demons," she breathed the words like they struck awe in every fibre of her being; as though they were the missing piece of her puzzle that she had been searching for for centuries. "They're like living fire...but they can make themselves look human. And they're pretty good at it." She sighed. "And my dad's kind of into blondes." Harry nodded, slowly starting to get it. "And one-night stands," she laughed. "He's the king of one-night stands. So, a strange blonde looking for no strings attached, no questions asked? It's like his fucking kryptonite. Morning after, she's gone. And that was A-okay by him. Except that she didn't go forever, obviously. Nine months later: basket on the doorstep, baby in a blanket, note that says 'Caution: hot'. He didn't get the joke for about a year, until my crib caught fire three times in one week and he started to put two and two together."

Harry had been staring at her, bewildered, the entire time; his gaze had not shifted once. "So you're..." He gulped. "You're not... human?"

"Not entirely."

He nodded slowly. "Right. So. That's weird."

She nodded in agreement. "I've never told anyone that before. It's definitely weird to get it off my chest. But kind of nice, too." They stood staring at one another, somewhat awkwardly, for a moment or so. Then Arabella told him, "Pick a tree."

He frowned. "What?"

She pointed out of the window, to the woods that lay just beyond the school's campus. "Pick a tree," she repeated simply.

"Uh, that one?" Harry said, indicating a tall oak that stood in the centre.

No sooner had the words left his lips, than the tree was ablaze. Harry's eyes widened with both horror and awe. The flames licked the tree from its roots, through its trunk and right to each and every last leaf. But it did not spread to the other trees. Instead, once the fire had turned each aspect of the plant to charcoal, it simply died out.

"Ta da!" Arabella sang.

Harry turned his awed expression towards her. "Wow. You really are out of this world, Arabella Stark."

She smirked.

**A/N: Soo... yeah. I hope you guys liked that and didn't think it was too out this world;) I'm not going to go full-on Thor-esque with this, but that's just a bit more of Arabella's background for you.**

**Please review! I'd really like to know what you guys thought of this one!**

**Again, exams are still on so it might take a while for the next chapter, please be patient!**


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